Dock for portable devices

ABSTRACT

Another embodiment of the invention provides a dock for connecting to a portable device. The dock includes a charging module, a backup program and a controller. The controller controls the dock to operate at a first mode or a second mode. When the dock operates at the first mode, the controller controls the charging module to charge the portable device, and when the dock operates at the second mode, the controller controls the charging module to charge the portable device and the backup program is executed to backup data of the portable device simultaneously.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/451,024, filed Mar. 9, 2011, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a data saving method, and more particularly to a data saving method for a portable device via a third party.

2. Description of the Related Art

Portable electronics have become a necessity for consumers both for personal and business use. With the growth of the usage of the portable device, some problems have been raised when backing up data of the portable device and charging the portable device. Due to the characteristics of small size, thin and lightweight, the capacity of the memory storage device and the battery embedded in the portable device may be limited. Furthermore, once the smart phone is damaged, the data stored in the smart phone may not to be retrieved and this may cause inconvenience to the consumer. Therefore, demand for backing up data of the portable device, such as the smart phone has increased, leading to problems concerning backing up of data of the portable device.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the invention provides a dock for connecting to a portable device. The dock comprises a charging module, a backup program and a controller. The controller controls the dock to operate at a first mode or a second mode. When the dock operates at the first mode, the controller controls the charging module to charge the portable device; and when the dock operates at the second mode, the controller controls the charging module to charge the portable device and the backup program is executed to backup data of the portable device simultaneously.

Another embodiment of the invention provides an electronic system comprising a portable device and a dock. The dock physically connects to the portable device via a connection cable, a socket or a slot. The dock comprises a charging module, a backup program and a controller. The controller controls the dock to operate at a first mode or a second mode. When the dock operates at the first mode, the controller controls the charging module to charge the portable device, and when the dock operates at the second mode, the controller controls the charging module to charge the portable device and the backup program is executed to backup data of the portable device simultaneously.

Another embodiment of the invention provides an operation method of a dock. The method comprises determining whether a log file exists in a portable device; backing up files from the portable device to a backup server according to the log file when the log file exists; determining to charge the portable device or not according to the log file; when the log file does not exist, only charging the portable device.

A detailed description is given in the following embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a backup system for a portable device.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a dock according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a backup mechanism for a portable device according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a backup method according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an electronic system including a portable device and a dock according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following description is of the best-contemplated mode of carrying out the invention. This description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention and should not be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the invention is best determined by reference to the appended claims.

FIG. 1 shows a backup system for a portable device. The portable device 11 may be a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a PDA phone or other similar device. The dock 12 is designed to provide external I/O interfaces for the portable device 11. The portable device 11 comprises a backup program to store the data of the portable device 11 to the backup server 13. The backup program is automatically activated when the portable device 11 connects to the dock 12.

When the backup program transmits and stores data of the portable device 11 to the backup server 13, three transmission paths are provided for data transmission. First, the data to be stored can be transmitted to the backup server 13 via a third party 15. Second, the data to be stored can be transmitted to the backup server 13 via a router 14. Third, the data to be stored can be transmitted directly to the backup server 13. The backup program selects at least one transmission path to transmit the data to be stored to the backup server 13. The backup program may transmit data to the backup server 13 via the described three transmission path simultaneously and the backup server 13 will select one transmission path that has the best network link quality to receive the data according to a select signal.

In another embodiment, the backup program uses a peer-to-peer file sharing mechanism to transmit the data via the described three transmission paths. For example, the backup program divides a first file into a plurality of data segments and then transmits the segments to the backup server 13 via the described three transmission paths. Due to the network link quality, the original transmission path chosen by the backup server 13 may not always have the best network link quality. Thus, the backup server 13 may monitor the status of data transmission (or the network link quality or the transmission speed) of the other two transmission path, and once the backup server 13 finds that the other transmission path (second transmission path) has a better network link quality than the current transmission path, the backup changes the current transmission to the second transmission path and receives the remaining data segments via the second transmission path. Then, the backup server 13 combines all the data segments into the first file.

In a second embodiment, the backup program first transmits a test data to the backup server via the described three transmission paths to test the network link quality or transmission speed. When the backup server 13 receives the test data, the backup server 13 transmits an acknowledge information back to the portable device 11. The portable device determines the network link quality of the three transmission paths according to the receiving time of the acknowledge information. The backup program may also record a label of priority of each transmission path. For example, the transmission path passing through the third party 15 is the first path and the priority is 2, the transmission path passing through the router 14 is the second path and the priority is 3, and the transmission path directly to the backup server 13 is the third path and the priority is 1. If the portable device 11 finds that the first path and the second path are available for transmitting data, the portable device 11 will chose the first path to transmit data. If the portable device finds that the first and the third path are available for transmitting data, the portable device 11 will chose the third path to transmit data.

In a third embodiment, the backup program transmits a first data to the backup server 13 simultaneously via the described three transmission paths and the backup program or the backup server 13 determines which transmission path is adopted according to some parameters during the data transmission, such as the network link quality or the transmission speed. Once the transmission path is determined, the backup program transmits the data via the adapted transmission path only.

In another situation, the router 14, the portable device 11 and the backup server 13 are at the same local area network (LAN) or a private network, and the third party 15 is at another network. The backup program will prefer to transmit the data via the router 14 or directly to the backup. Therefore, the transmission paths used by the proposed backup method comprise two parts, intranet transmission paths and internet transmission path, and the intranet transmission path is preferred. For example, a user using the portable device 11 is at his home or company and the backup server 13 is also at his home or company. A local area network, wired or wireless network, covering the portable device 11, the router 14 and the backup server 13 is provided. When a user wants to backup the data of the portable, the backup program will select to transmit and store data to the backup server 13 directly or via the router 14. In another situation, a wireless access point (AP) providing the wireless network covering the portable device 11, the router 14 and the backup server 13 is provided. The backup program may transmit and store data to the backup server 13 via the AP.

The described embodiments are illustrated with the situation that the backup program is built in the portable device 11. In another situation, the backup program is built in the dock 12, and is activated when the portable device connects to the dock 12. The operation of the backup program built in the dock 12 is similar to the described backup program built in the portable device 12, and not described here for brevity. In another embodiment, the backup program is downloaded to the portable device 12 and executed by a processor of the portable device 12.

Furthermore, the dock 12 may physically connect to a storage medium, such as a USB flash memory device, SD card, memory card or an external hard disk. The backup program built in the dock 12 will automatically backup the data of the portable device 11 to the storage medium when the portable device connects to the dock 12. Furthermore, the dock 12 may comprise an adapter and when the portable device 11 connects to the dock 12, the dock 12 can backup the data of the portable device 11 and charge the portable device simultaneously.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a dock according to an embodiment of the invention. The dock 20 comprises a controller 21, a first connector 22, a second connector 23, a charge module 24, a backup program 25 and a communication interface 26. The first connector 22 connects to a portable device and may be implemented by a USB connector. The second connector 23 connects to a storage medium, such as an external hard drive, a SD memory card, a micro SD memory card, a CF memory card or other similar storage device. The charging module 24, implemented by hardware circuits, connects to an AC voltage source, and when the first connector 22 connects to a portable device, the charge module 24 charges the portable device. The communication interface 26 provides wired and/or wireless network connection ways for the dock 20. In an embodiment, the communication interface 26 comprises a connector for connecting to a network cable. The backup program 25 is executed by the controller 21 to determine how to backup the data of the portable device. In another embodiment, the backup program 25 is executed by a processor of the portable device, and the controller 21 is then controlled by the processor of the portable device.

When the first connector 22 connects to a portable device, the controller 21 first identifies the portable device and acquires the information of the magnitude of charging voltage and charging current of the portable device. Then, the controller 21 controls the output voltage and current of the charging module 24. The charging module 24 connects to an AC voltage source and transforms an AC voltage into a DC voltage according to the control of the controller 24. In another embodiment, the charging module 24 outputs a fixed voltage to the first connector 22 according to the specification of the first connector 22 or the standard of the interface of the first connector 22. For example, the supplied voltage for a USB device is 5V, and the magnitude of the supplied current is 500 mA. Thus, the output voltage of the charging module 24 is 5V and the magnitude of the output current is 500 mA.

The second connector 23 connects to an external memory card and the memory card is controlled by the controller 21 and the backup program 25. In another embodiment, the external memory card may be control by the portable device connects to the first connector 22. When the first connector 22 connects to a portable device, the controller 21 executes the backup program 25 and controls the charging module to charge the portable device. The backup program 25 first determines whether the data of the portable device needs to be backed up. If the data of the portable device does not need to be backed up, the function of the dock 20 is similar to an adapter for charging the portable device. If the data of the portable device needs to be backed up, the backup program 25 then determines the data of the portable device to be backed up in the storage medium connecting to the second connector 23 or another backup device.

When the data of the portable device is backed up to the storage medium connected to the second connector 23, the backup program 25 generates a log file that contains the information of the backed up files. The log file may comprise the format, the file name, the establish date and the size of the backed up files. Since the dock 20 may connect to different portable devices, the log file may further comprise unique information of the portable device, such as a device ID of the portable device. The log file is stored in a memory device of the dock 20 and the when the portable device connects to the dock 20 again, the controller 21 first acquires the unique information of the portable device and finds the corresponding log file. The backup program 25 then only stores the unstored files to the storage medium according to the log file.

When the data of the portable device is backed up to a back up server, three transmission paths between the dock 20 and the backup server are provided. In the first path, the data of the portable device can be transmitted to the backup server via a third party. According to the second path, the data to be stored can be transmitted to the backup server via a router or a wireless access point (AP). In the third path, the data of the portable device is transmitted directly to the backup server. The backup program 25 selects one transmission path according to the stability, network quality, or transmission speed of the three paths.

In this embodiment, the backup program 25 first transmits a test data to the backup server via the described three transmission paths to test the network link quality or transmission speed. When the backup server receives the test data, the backup server transmits an acknowledge packet back to the portable device. The portable device determines the network link quality of the three transmission paths according to the receiving time of the acknowledge packet. In another embodiment, a user can set the priority of the three transmission paths via an application program installed in the portable device when the portable device connects to the dock 20. In another situation, when the portable device connects to the dock 12, the control of the portable device is transferred to the dock 20, i.e., the portable device can be regarded as a peripheral device connecting to the dock 20. Thus, the backup program 25 shows a window for setting the priority on the display device of the portable device, and a user can set the priority of the three transmission paths via the input means of the portable device, such as a keyboard or touch panel. When the priory is set, the backup program 24 does not test the network link quality or transmission speed of the three transmission paths until the dock 20 is reset or receives another control signal for re-selecting the transmission path.

In another embodiment, the backup program 25 transmits a first data to the backup server simultaneously via the described three transmission paths and the backup server determines which transmission path is adopted according to some parameters during the data transmission, such as the network link quality or the transmission speed. Once the transmission path is determined, the backup program 25 transmits the data via the adapted transmission path only.

When the backup program 25 detects that the backup server cannot be reached, the backup program 25 backs up the data of the portable device via a third party. The backup program 25 first transmits and stores data of the portable device to the third party and a command. The storage command is suited for the third party and the third party transmits the backed up data to the backup server according to the command. The third party may continuously or periodically monitor the status of the backup process server, and once the backup server can be accessed, the third party transmits the backed up data to the backup server according to the command generated by the backup program 25. The command may further designate the backup data to be stored in a specific folder of the backup process server. In another embodiment, the third party leaves an offline instruction to the backup server and when the backup server re-connects to the internet network, the backup server responds with an acknowledge packet to the third party. The third party then transmits and stores the backup data to the backup server.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a backup mechanism for a portable device according to an embodiment of the invention. The portable device 31 comprises a first application program 33 and a first storage device 34, such as an SD card, CF card or flash memory. The backup device 32, which is connected to the dock 12 of FIG. 1, comprises a second storage device 35 and a controller 36. When a user wants to backup files stored in the first storage device 34, the user uses the first application program 33 to select and mark files to be backed up and the first application program 33 then outputs a log file indicating which files have to be backed up.

When the backup device 32 is electrically connected to the portable device 31, the backup device 32 reads the log file of the portable device 31 to know which files have to be backed up. Then, the backup device 32 acquires and stores the files to be backed up in the second storage device 35. When the backup device 32 is connected to the portable device 21, the control of the portable device 31 is transferred to the controller 36 of the backup process device 32. After the backup device 32 finishes the file storing procedure, the backup device 32 creates and stores a host log file in the portable device 31. The host log file records the status of the file storing process. Finally, the backup device 32 is disconnected from the portable device 32, and the first application program 33 reads the host log file.

The present data backup procedure mainly comprises three parts. First, before the portable device 31 is connected to the backup device 32, the first application program 33 is executed to select and mark files to be backed up by a user. The first application program 23 then creates and stores a log file. The log file contains the information of the files to be backed up. The information may comprise file names of the file to be backed up.

Second, when the portable device 31 is connected to the backup device 32, the control of the portable device 31 is transferred to the backup device 32. In other word, the portable device 31 can be regarded as a peripheral device of the backup device 32. The backup device 32 reads the log file and stores the files to be backed up to the second storage device 35. After finishing storing data, the backup device 32 creates and stores a host log file in the portable device 31, and breaks down the connection to the portable device 32.

Third, the first application program 33 is executed and reads the host log file to know the status of the backup process.

According to the present embodiment of the invention, the log file may not only record the information of the files to be backed up, but also a destination folder or path that the files have to be stored.

In another embodiment, the log file contains a timestamp and the backup device 32 also stores the log file from the portable device 31. When the backup device 32 accesses the log file from the portable device 31, the backup device 32 also reads a previous log file stored in the backup device 32, and the backup device 32 only stores the unstored files according to the log file and the previous log file. The backup device 32 comprising a first log file database stores the log files generating from the portable device 32, and the portable device 31 comprises a second log file data storing the host log files created by the backup device 32. Each time the portable device 21 backs up the data or files to the backup device 32, the first application program 33 or the backup device 32 can find a previous host log file or a previous log file to determine which files are new to backup. That also can be applied to the restore mechanism.

The host log file also contains a timestamp, and when the first application program 33 creates the log file, the first application program 33 will check a previous host log file to see whether the current selected files have been stored in the backup device 32. If yes, the current log file will exclude the stored files from the current log file. It is noted that, if the destination folder of the destination path of the previously stored files is different from the current destination folder of the destination path, the stored files will still be stored in the current destination folder of the destination path.

The described paragraphs are focused on the backup mechanism for the portable device 21. A data restore method for the portable device 31 is discussed in the following. When a user wants to restore some files from the backup device 32 to the portable device 31, the first application program 33 creates a first log file indicating which files have to be restored to the portable device 31. When the backup device 32 is connected to the portable device 31, the controller 36 reads the first log file and restores the requested files to the portable device 31. After the restoring procedure, the backup device 32 also creates and stores a first host log file to the portable device 31.

Via the first application program 33, a user can set data between two dates to be restored from the backup device 32 to the portable device 31. For example, if a user wants to restore the pictures taken from Jan. 1, 2011 to Jan. 10, 2011, a user can input some parameters, such as the date and the type information, via the first application program 33 and then the first application program creates the log file according to the user's inputs. Furthermore, a user can appoint which type of files is to be backed up via the first application program. Similarly, this can also be applied to the restore mechanism.

In the present embodiment of the invention, the backup device 32 may also comprise a second application program for backing up the data of the portable device 11 or restoring the data from the backup device 32 to the portable device. A wireless connection mechanism, security mechanism or synchronization mechanism may also be applied to the portable device 31 and backup device 32.

The backup device 32 may communicate with the portable device 31 via wireless interface, such as Wifi, WiMax, Bluetooth, IrDa or other wireless interface. When a distance between the portable device 31 and the backup device 32 is shorter than a predetermined distance, the backup device 32 automatically mounts the portable device 32 and backups the files in the portable device 31. Furthermore, the backup device 32 can synchronize with more than one portable device or other computing device and backup the data therein within a predetermined range.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a backup method according to an embodiment of the invention. In step S41, the portable device receives inputs to select and mark the files to be backed up. A user can input parameters via a touch panel or keypad of the portable device. Furthermore, voice control may also be applied. In step S42, a first application program of the portable device creates a log file according to user's inputs. In step S43, the backup device mounts the portable device, and the control of the portable device is then transferred to the backup device. The backup device reads the log file and stores the files from the portable device to the backup device according to the log file. In step S44, when the backup device finishes storing data, the backup device creates and stores a host log file in the portable device. In step S45, the backup device dis-mounts the portable device. The portable device may be physically disconnected from the backup device or the backup device just transfers the control of the portable device back to the portable device. In step S46, the portable device reads the host log file to check the status of the backed up file.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an electronic system including a portable device and a dock according to an embodiment of the invention. The dock 52 operates at a charge mode and a backup mode. When the dock 52 operates at the charge mode, the dock 52 directs the electric power from the voltage source 54 to the portable device 51 for charging. The voltage source 54 may be an AC voltage source and a corresponding voltage transformer is required to be embedded in the dock 52. In another embodiment, the voltage source 54 is an external battery bank that can directly provide the power to the portable device 51. When the dock 52 operates at the backup mode, the dock 52 backs up the data of the portable device 51 to the backup device 53. When the dock 52 operates at the backup mode, the control of the portable device 51 is transferred to the dock 52 until the backup procedure has been completed. When the dock 52 operates at the backup mode, the portable device 51 can be also charged by the voltage source 54. The operating mode of the dock 52 can be set by a switch or a button of the dock 52.

Noted that a controller of dock 52 first determines whether a log file exists in a storage device of a portable device 51, such as the log file generated by the first application program 33 in FIG. 3 or the log file created in step S42. If the controller does not detect the log file, the dock 52 charges the portable device 51 only. If the log file exists, the controller backs up files of portable device 51 according to the log file. In one embodiment, the log file contains commands or information for the controller of the dock 52 and the controller determines to charge the portable device 51 or not according to the commands or information.

While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of the preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. To the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to those skilled in the art). Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements. 

1. A dock for connecting to a portable device, comprising: a charging module; a backup program; and a controller to control the dock to operate at a first mode or a second mode, wherein when the dock operates at the first mode, the controller controls the charging module to charge the portable device, and when the dock operates at the second mode, the controller controls the charging module to charge the portable device and the backup program is executed to backup data of the portable device simultaneously.
 2. The dock as claimed in claim 1, wherein the charging module connects to an AC voltage source and transforms an AC voltage into a DC voltage for charging the portable device.
 3. The dock as claimed in claim 1, wherein the dock further comprises a storage medium and the data of the portable device is backed up in the storage medium.
 4. The dock as claimed in claim 1, wherein the dock backs up the data of the portable device to a backup server via an internet network.
 5. The dock as claimed in claim 5, wherein when the backup program is executed, the backup program executes the following steps: establishing a first transmission path, by the controller, between the dock and the backup server, wherein the first transmission path represents that the dock directly backs up data of the portable device to the backup server; establishing a second transmission path, by the controller, between the dock and the backup server, wherein the second transmission path represents that the dock backs up data of the portable device to the backup server via a third party; establishing a third transmission path, by the controller, between the dock and the backup server, wherein the third transmission path represents that the dock backs up data of the portable device to the backup server via a router or a wireless access point; and selecting one of the first transmission path, the second transmission path and the third transmission path according to a select signal.
 6. The dock as claimed in claim 1, wherein when the dock operates at the second mode, the control of the portable device is transferred to the dock.
 7. The dock as claimed in claim 1, wherein when the dock operates at the second mode, the backup program is downloaded to the portable device and executed by a processor of the portable device.
 8. The dock as claimed in claim 7, wherein the controller is controlled by the processor of the portable device.
 9. The dock as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a communication interface for connecting to an internet network via a wired/wireless connection mechanism.
 10. An electronic system, comprising: a portable device; and a dock for physically connecting to the portable device, wherein the dock comprises: a charging module; a backup program; and a controller to control the dock to operate at a first mode or a second mode, wherein when the dock operates at the first mode, the controller controls the charging module to charge the portable device, and when the dock operates at the second mode, the controller controls the charging module to charge the portable device and the backup program is executed to backup data of the portable device simultaneously.
 11. The electronic system as claimed in claim 10, wherein when the dock operates at the second mode, the backup program is downloaded to the portable device and executed by a processor of the portable device, and the controller is controlled by the processor of the portable device
 12. The electronic system as claimed in claim 10, wherein when the dock operates at the second mode, the control of the portable device is transferred to the dock.
 13. The electronic system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the charging module connects to an AC voltage source and transforms an AC voltage into a DC voltage for charging the portable device.
 14. The electronic system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the dock further comprises a storage medium and the data of the portable device is backed up in the storage medium.
 15. The electronic system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the dock backs up the data of the portable device to a backup server via an internet network.
 16. The electronic system as claimed in claim 15, wherein when the backup program is executed, the backup program executes the following steps: establishing a first transmission path, by the controller, between the dock and the backup server, wherein the first transmission path represents that the dock directly backs up data of the portable device to the backup server; establishing a second transmission path, by the controller, between the dock and the backup server, wherein the second transmission path represents that the dock backs up data of the portable device to the backup server via a third party; establishing a third transmission path, by the controller, between the dock and the backup server, wherein the third transmission path represents that the dock backs up data of the portable device to the backup server via a router or a wireless access point; and selecting one of the first transmission path, the second transmission path and the third transmission path according to a select signal.
 17. The electronic system as claimed in claim 16, wherein the select signal is generated according to a network link quality or a transmission speed of the first transmission path, the second transmission path and the third transmission path.
 18. An operation method of a dock, comprising: determining whether a log file exists in a portable device; backing up files from the portable device to a backup server according to the log file when the log file exists; determining to charge the portable device or not according to the log file; and when the log file does not exist, only charging the portable device. 